Environmental Storytelling in Games
Environmental Storytelling
Let’s talk about environmental storytelling. This is something unique to visual and interactive media formats. Stories are told by the placement of certain items in the world. There’s no dialogue or written notes telling you what happened.
For example, in Concord in Fallout 4 you can hack your way into the vault of a bank. When you do, you find a huge hole in the external wall and a skeleton hanging out of it. If you jump out to the ground you find a car, another skeleton and a duffle bag full of ‘pre-war money.’ So, what happened? Clearly this bank was in the process of being robbed when the bombs fell, and the robbers died where they were.
SOMA – Masterful Environmental Storytelling
SOMA is a game that excels at environmental storytelling. It is a narrative horror experience that examines what it means to be human and what it means to be alive. The bare bones of the story are told through dialogue and cutscenes, but if you explore carefully, you can really get to know the people of Pathos II.
I won’t spoil the ending of SOMA, you should play it if you haven’t already. However, in the first section of the game, you must turn on the power to find your way to Catherine. Exploring, you find lots of doodles and drawings and a sketchbook belonging to Amy Azarro. When you reach the shuttle train, you find Amy, kept alive by a strange machine.
She says, “It won’t let me die. Nothing is allowed to die.” You need to disconnect her to power up the shuttle so you can leave. Depending on your choice here, Amy either ends up in a coma, or dead. So, you’ve killed a human for your own benefit. You care a lot more about this, if you’ve seen all of Amy’s drawings. Or if you listened to the recording, where she destroys one of the robots after it kills her colleague, Carl. You even find a video message from her husband on the surface, who is long dead at this point.
Why Would You Care?
Because you’ve got to know her. Without speaking to her, you’ve learned about her last few days and her previous life. You know she has a husband. Her friendship with Carl, and her fascination with the ocean life. She is a good artist and clearly enjoyed drawing in her free time. Yet you must end her existence in order to progress.
Simon has his own emotional response to the situation, and a player who is rushing through probably won’t. SOMA isn’t about the ending, it’s about the journey. It wants you to slow down, explore and absorb the atmosphere. It gives you time to think about the issues it presents. The story is more complete when you take the time to listen and observe.
What do you think about this kind of storytelling? Do you have a favourite example? Let me know in the comments.
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